After 15 games of qualifying and a demanding match play bracket, the field of 390 at the 2026 USBC Masters has been cut down to just five players. After Jakob Butturff’s record-breaking performance earlier in the week, few expected that another record moment was still to come.
But if there is one player capable of delivering the unexpected, it is EJ Tackett.
It may sound surprising, but the reigning three-time Player of the Year had not appeared on a USBC Masters finals in 12 years. That changed this week. For the first time since 2014, Tackett reached the stepladder finals, and he did it in record-breaking fashion.
Tackett went undefeated through all six matches in the winners bracket and averaged 258.39 across those games. That performance set a new USBC Masters match play scoring record, breaking the previous mark set by Anthony Simonsen in 2023 (250.4 avg.).
USBC Masters Match Play Record
Tackett started match play as the No. 17 seed and worked his way through a strong lineup. He defeated Steve Novak, Casey Cohagan, Nate Garcia, François Lavoie, Boog Krol, and Eric Jones to lock up the No. 1 seed.
Eric Jones will enter the finals as the No. 2 seed.
The 21-year-old put together a strong run of his own, winning five straight matches before falling to Tackett in the final winners bracket match. On his way, he defeated Daniel Vick in a roll-off, followed by wins over Matt Ogle, Dylan Bowers, Jason Belmonte, and Jesper Svensson.
Jesper Svensson still found his way into the show despite that loss.
The 14-time PBA Tour title winner from Sweden advanced through the final
four-player, three-game match and posted a total of 715 to secure the No. 3
seed. Earlier in match play, Svensson defeated Shota Kawazoe, Brandon
Robertson, Nick Pate, and Deo Benard before losing to Jones. This marks Svensson's second TV round appearance in a major this season after he finished fourth in the season-opener PBA Players Championship.
Matt Sanders earned the No. 4 seed after a strong run through the elimination bracket.
The 32-year-old left-hander dropped into the elimination side early but kept winning when it mattered.
After victories over Garrett Meadows and Zachary Wilkins, he lost to Deo Benard but then responded with four straight wins against Tomas Käyhkö, Blake Walsh, Francois Lavoie, and Matt Russo. Sanders secured his spot in the finals by shooting 697 in the final four-player match.
Boog Krol will make his second consecutive TV round appearance after claiming the final spot in the stepladder finals as the No. 5 seed.
Krol qualified in 53rd place but put together a strong run in match play. He won five matches in a row in the winners bracket before losing to Tackett. In the final four-player match, Krol scored 666 to earn his place in the finals. He will face Sanders in the opening match on Sunday.
Stepladder Finalists
| Seed | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | EJ Tackett |
| 2 | Eric Jones |
| 3 | Jesper Svensson |
| 4 | Matt Sanders |
| 5 | Boog Krol |
Brandon Bonta, PBA Players Championship champion, finished sixth after posting 584 in the same four-player match, just missing out on the stepladder finals.
The stepladder finals will take place Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast live on The CW. The winner will earn $100,000 and claim the title at the 2026 USBC Masters.
New Finals Format
The 2026 USBC Masters marks a shift in how the champion will be crowned. Following the move to a new broadcaster, The CW, the tournament is returning to the traditional five-player stepladder finals.
In the championship match, the #1 seed only needs to be defeated once, not twice, as in previous years.
The Pattern
This year, Kegel has laid out a 41-foot challenge at the USBC Masters.
- Distance: 41 Feet
- Total Volume: 35.59 mL (Extremely heavy)
- Pattern Ratio: 1.87:1
